Tirreno-Adriatico 2026: Van der Poel Dominates the Stages, Pellizzari Leads the GC
While the world’s attention drifted between Tuscany and the French hills, the 2026 Tirreno-Adriatico has quietly delivered some of the most exciting racing of the early season. Four stages in, and the race has already produced a time trial masterclass, a wild gravel stage, and a sprint upset — with the overall classification still wide open.
Stage 1 — Ganna Destroys the Time Trial Filippo Ganna set the tone in Lido di Camaiore. The Italian national TT champion won the 11.5km opener by a massive 22 seconds, breaking his own course record in the process. It was a statement of intent — and put him in the race lead heading into the road stages.
Stage 2 — Van der Poel on the Gravel The real race began on stage 2. Wet gravel roads turned the finish in San Gimignano into chaos, and Mathieu van der Poel thrived in the mess. The Dutchman navigated a three-up sprint to take the win ahead of Isaac del Toro, who moved into the overall lead thanks to bonus seconds. Van der Poel’s Classics form is clearly already at its peak.
Stage 3 — Andresen’s Career Best Stage 3 was a 221km slog to Magliano de’ Marsi, and 23-year-old Tobias Lund Andresen of Decathlon-CMA CGM made the most of it. Launching perfectly from a reduced sprint, he outpaced Arnaud De Lie and Jasper Philipsen for the biggest win of his career. Del Toro held the race lead.
Stage 4 — Van der Poel Again The Tortoreto climb on stage 4 turned the GC on its head. Matteo Jorgenson lit the fuse early, reducing the lead group dramatically. Then del Toro attacked on the steepest section — but Van der Poel, perfectly placed, responded with an explosive sprint from the reduced group. Giulio Pellizzari grabbed second and, crucially, six bonus seconds — enough to snatch the overall lead from del Toro by just two seconds.
GStage 5 — Marotta-Mondolfo to Mombaroccio (184km)
Michael Valgren took a superb solo victory on stage 5 — one of the rare instances this season where a breakaway has succeeded at the top level. The Danish classics specialist broke away from the day’s escape group and held on for his first win since 2021, an emotional result after years of setbacks. Wikipedia Behind him, Isaac del Toro attacked on the final climb and distanced Giulio Pellizzari to retake the overall race lead, with Matteo Jorgenson the only rider able to follow. Procyclingstats Pellizzari lost significant time along with Roglič, Johannessen and Ciccone — shaking up the GC considerably heading into the final two stages.
Add this paragraph after your Stage 5 section:
Stage 6 — San Severino Marche to Camerino (188km)
Isaac del Toro took a dominant stage win in Camerino, finishing ahead of Tobias Halland Johannessen and Matteo Jorgenson. Wikipedia UAE Team Emirates played it cool on the brutal Madonna delle Carceri wall — with gradients of up to 18% — before del Toro closed down attacks from Pellizzari and rode clear to win. FloBikes It was a statement performance from the young Mexican, who now looks virtually certain to win the overall classification heading into tomorrow’s final flat sprint stage in San Benedetto del Tronto.
Stage 7 — Civitanova Marche to San Benedetto del Tronto (142km)
Jonathan Milan stormed to victory on the final stage in San Benedetto del Tronto, winning the sprint for the third consecutive year, with Sam Welsford second and Laurenz Rex third. Procyclingstats Del Toro safely navigated the flat finale to seal his overall victory — becoming the first ever Mexican to win Tirreno-Adriatico, and the youngest winner since Thomas Dekker in 2006. Procyclingstats
Final overall classification:
- Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
- Matteo Jorgenson (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) +0:40
- Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-BORA-Hansgrohe) +0:42